Yuga Labs co-founder to take leave of absence due to health reasons

Published at: Jan. 29, 2023

Nonfungible token (NFT) entrepreneur Wylie Aronow of Yuga Labs — the team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks — will be taking a leave of absence from the office to manage a host of heart failure symptoms.

In a Jan. 28 Twitter post to his 144,900 followers, Aronow said the tough decision to step back came on the back of a heart failure diagnosis after experiencing a myriad of symptoms over the last few months.

Some heavy news: a few days ago I was told by my doctor I have congestive heart failure. Symptoms started last year out of the blue and I put off seeking help (like an idiot) so I could keep working. But after testing, my doctor called and asked me to radically change my life.

— GordonGoner.eth (Wylie Aronow) (@GordonGoner) January 28, 2023

The NFT entrepreneur explained that while his "mild" symptoms still enable him to live a “mostly normal life,” his condition has rapidly accelerated to the point where he had no other option but to deprioritize his work.

The Yuga Labs co-founder didn’t put a date on when he would hope to make a full recovery and return to day-to-day duties.

However, Aranow confirmed that he will be sticking around as a board member and strategic advisor.

This isn’t the first medical diagnosis that has kept Aranow out of work either.

Aranow revealed that he dealt with a chronic illness in his twenties which held him back from progressing in his career. So when he finally recovered and co-founded Yuga Labs, there was no looking back:

“When I recovered and we started Yuga, I didn’t want to waste a second chance at life. I pushed myself way past my limits. I worked 12 hours a day, nearly every day. I should have taken the advice from everyone around me and sought balance.”

“My goals now are to get the best medical treatment I can and heal,” he added.

Aronow also expressed his excitement to soon work alongside the firm’s new CEO, Daniel Alegre, the former president and chief operating officer of Activision Blizzard.

While Aronow did not provide any detail on what he would be doing as strategic advisor, Aronow recently announced on Nov. 8 that he would propose a new model for NFT creator royalties.

Aronow co-founded Yuga Labs alongside Greg Solano in February 2021.

Among the most notable NFTs developed by the company are CryptoPunks, BAYC, MeeBits and Othersidemeta.